Rowing

ROWING MEDALS IN TWO EVENTS IN THE FINAL DAY OF THE WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS

GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Sacramento State women's rowing squad claimed a gold medal in the second novice eight, and a silver in the second varsity eight during the final day of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships Sunday morning at Lake Natoma.

The WIRA's serve as the Hornets' conference championship regatta, and crews raced in beautiful conditions throughout the day.

Besides the second varsity eight and second novice eight, the Hornets also had entries in the varsity eight and novice eight competitions. All four boats advanced to their respective grand finals, but the varsity eight placed fifth and the novice eight sixth in its grand final races.

The varsity eight failed to medal at the WIRA Championships for the first time in five years, and the novice eight for the first time in three years. The second varsity eight brought home a medal for the third straight year. The Hornets did not compete a boat in the varsity four competition.

Gonzaga placed first in the varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight and varsity four grand finals to win the team points championship. Gonzaga finished with 344 points, followed by San Diego State (337) and Western Washington (312) to round out the top three places.

In the varsity eight grand final, Gonzaga won with a time of 6:47.7, followed by Stanford Lightweights (6:47.9), Saint Mary's (6:58.6), Loyola Marymount (6:58.8), Sacramento State (7:03.6) and Seattle (7:25.4).

In the second varsity eight grand final, Gonzaga rowed to a winning time of 6:51.2, followed by the Hornets (7:06.2) and San Diego State (7:10.5) to round out the top three places in the six-boat field. Socheata Guimond, who was the Hornets' coxswain, was the recipient of second team all-WIRA honors.